Radiators Use Convection, Not Radiation

When referring to the heating appliance commonly found in houses, the word radiator is often not technically the correct name to give it. The traditional radiator does not in fact radiate heat, but transfers it by convection.

Radiation refers to energy being projected outwards in waves in all different directions to then be absorbed by the first body it collides with, whether that is a human being or an object of some kind.

Convection is when liquid is heated up, (in terms of household heating this would be the water inside the radiator) and then in turn heats the matter surrounding it, starting with its (usually white painted iron) housing and then the surrounding air. So radiation and convection can have almost indistinguishable end results, but it is the way in which the heat travels that provides the difference.

So we call the most commonly used heating appliance in the world a radiator, despite the fact it doesnt radiate in the slightest.

Convection is however, a much safer method of emitting heat than radiation. Radiation refers to when heat/energy is transferred via electromagnetic radiation waves, which if you are exposed to regularly, can be harmful.

Beta and alpha are the two common kinds of radiation, and although beta is stronger than alpha, it doesnt take much more than a sheet of thin metal to block them. Even so if your heating system was emitting radiation into your home, then that amount of exposure could pose serious threats to your health over time such as deterioration of internal tissue and even cancer.

So really we should be calling radiators convectors as technically they convect rather than radiate. However given the risks involved in radiation, personally Id rather have it that way than the other way round!

Tags: kinds of radiation